[07/28/08 - 08:42 AM]America Votes to Determine Whether Jennifer Or Matt Will Win Their Own Show on HGTV Voting is open until 10 am ET Wednesday, July 30.

[via press release from HGTV]

AMERICA VOTES TO DETERMINE WHETHER JENNIFER OR MATT WILL WIN THEIR OWN SHOW ON HGTV

Winner of HGTV Design Star To Be Announced Sunday, August 3 at 9 pm ET/PT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. [For Immediate Release - July 28, 2008] The fierce field of competition has been narrowed to two talented finalists--artist and designer Jennifer Bertrand, 32, from Olathe, Kansas; and interiors, furniture and lighting designer, Matt Locke, 38, of Los Angeles--each vying for America's vote to become the next HGTV Design Star. Voting is open until 10 am ET Wednesday, July 30. Until then, fans can cast one vote per day at HGTV.com/DesignStar and send up to five votes via text message to HGTV1 or 44881; they can text the letter A to vote for Jennifer or the letter B to vote for Matt. The winner will be announced during the surprise-packed series finale on Sunday, August 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Jennifer and Matt have survived weeks of rigorous design challenges and bested seven other top-notch designers, builders and artists to secure their place in the finale and possibly the ultimate television prize: hosting their own show on HGTV. At the conclusion of Sunday night's dramatic episode, fans rushed to HGTV.com to cast their votes. In addition, thousands of online users reviewed the photos of Jennifer and Matt's amazing designs and joined the message board frenzy to post their opinions on the web site's popular "Judge the Designs" page.

For the final challenge, Jen and Matt visited New Orleans to help two neighboring families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Each designer had $20,000 and 36 hours to complete the new kitchen, dining room and living room areas, designed to the homeowner's specifications. Matt created a contemporary design with touches of sparkling glamour for the Olega family who said they preferred clean lines and earth tones. Jennifer brought the Gowland family's home to life by incorporating their favorite bold colors and dramatic design elements. The two families, each with a patriarch employed by the local fire or police department, were overjoyed with the results.

"Jennifer and Matt are fantastic designers and proved their skills as television hosts during the show's intense design challenges," said James Bolosh, HGTV's vice president of event programming. "HGTV would be pleased to have either designer join our roster of network talent."

In the series finale set for August 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, viewers will see a reunion of the show's remaining finalists and judges and get their take on how the show unfolded. The finale also will include a review of the series' highlights and special appearances by HGTV's expert talent

HGTV Design Star is the highest -rated prime time show in the network's history. Since this season's premiere on June 8, more than 32 million viewers have tuned-in--a figure that does not include Sunday night's highly-watched final challenge episode.

About HGTV

HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 95 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination that attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month. HGTV owns 33 percent of HGTV Canada and provides much of the Canadian network's daily programming. The network's branded programming also can be seen in 131 territories across all seven continents and its selected programming is available to service men and women on board Navy ships and through American Forces Radio & Television Service (AFRTS), which services more than 1,000 outlets in over 175 countries. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York and San Francisco, HGTV is wholly owned by Scripps Networks, which also operates Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living Network and Great American Country.